In June 2013 the New Hampshire Legislature passed House Bill 573, relative to the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes. Governor Maggie Hassan signed HB 573 (RSA 126-X) into law effective July 23, 2013. RSA 126-X creates an exemption in state law from criminal penalties for the therapeutic use of cannabis provided that its use is in compliance with RSA 126-X. The NH Legislature placed the responsibility for administering the program within the NH Department of Health and Human Services. The Department's primary responsibilities include:

Maintaining a registry of, and issuing registry identification cards to, eligible qualifying patients who have been certified by their medical provider to have a qualifying medical condition and associated symptoms;

Issuing registry identification cards to designated caregivers who are authorized to assist qualifying patients with the therapeutic use of cannabis; and

Issuing registration certificates to a maximum of four alternative treatment centers in the state for the cultivation, production, and dispensing of cannabis to qualifying patients, or their designated caregivers.

The Department is not currently accepting applications for either patient registry identification cards or for alternative treatment center registration certificates. The Department will update this web page as it moves forward with program implementation and will say when it is ready to accept applications from patients, caregivers, and alternative treatment centers.

SCAM ALERT

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is advising the public to be wary of potential scams in which individuals or entities offer their services to assist people in obtaining a New Hampshire Therapeutic Cannabis Registry Identification Card for payment. DHHS is not accepting applications for Registry Identification Cards at this time, and it will not accept applications for such cards until the Alternative Treatment Centers are ready to begin operating and there is a legal means by which qualifying patients can access therapeutic cannabis. This is likely to be sometime around the late summer of 2015. When we get closer to the time when the Therapeutic Cannabis Program will begin operating, DHHS will make the application forms available and will post information on applying for a Registry Identification Card. In the meantime, if you learn of any individual or entity that is soliciting such business, please immediately report this to DHHS’ Therapeutic Cannabis Program. If someone has taken money from you on the pretext of helping you obtain a Therapeutic Cannabis Registry Identification Card, please also report this to DHHS.

Updates

June 9, 2015

Department of Health And Human Services Announcement of Applicants Selected to Begin the Post-Selection Registration Process to Become an Alternative Treatment Center

On May 29, 2015, after a comprehensive and detailed review of applications in response to the Request for Applications for Approval to Operate an
Alternative Treatment Center (RFA #15-DHHS-OHS-OOS_RFA-01) for the
therapeutic use of cannabis, the Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS) has selected the following entities to begin the post-selection registration process for the following geographic areas:

Entity

Location

Prime Alternative Treatment Centers of NH, Inc.

Geographic Area 2

Temescal Wellness, Inc.

Geographic Areas 1 & 3

Sanctuary ATC

Geographic Area 4

"This is an important milestone to bring the Alternative Treatment Centers on-line," said Commissioner Nicholas A. Toumpas. "Now that the selections have been made, we will work closely with the selected Treatment Centers to make them operational as soon as possible so that they can open their doors and begin to provide relief to the individuals who are in need and suffering from serious medical conditions."

The selected entities must now follow the post-selection registration process described in administrative rule He-C 402.05 in order to receive a registration certificate from DHHS to operate an alternative treatment center (ATC). This stage of the process is expected to take a number of months to complete and will require each entity to secure local approvals and establish their operations. Specific locations of an ATC's registered premises within each geographic area have not yet been determined. During the post-selection registration process, the Department will work collaboratively with the selected applicants and the local governing body of the towns and cities in which they would like to operate, to solicit the input of the municipal or town residents as well as that of prospective patients and caregivers relative to safety and other local concerns and the overall health needs of qualifying patients.

Each selected entity must submit its Application for ATC Registration no later than August 27, 2015, after which the selected entity will be subject to a compliance inspection. If compliant with all applicable laws and rules, the ATC will be issued a registration certificate to operate an ATC and may begin to cultivate cannabis.

A specific timeframe for when each ATC will be open to serve qualifying patients cannot be provided at this time. It is anticipated that it will take approximately 8–9 months after today's announced selection before an ATC will be open for business (dispensing cannabis to qualifying patients). This estimate could change as the ATC's seek to obtain zoning and other local approvals, establishing their programs, and achieving compliance with requirements.

The Department plans to begin issuing registry identification cards to patients approximately 6 weeks prior to an ATC being operational and open for business and will post an announcement on its website when it is ready to begin to accept qualifying patient and caregiver applications.

Qualifying medical conditions are listed in the statute at RSA 126-X:1, IX (a); a link to this statute can be found on this webpage.

Request for Applications (Note that the application period has closed.)

On November 20, 2014, the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules conditionally approved He-C 402 Therapeutic Cannabis Program - Alternative Treatment Centers. The rule was adopted by the Commissioner on November 24, 2014, with an effective date of November 25, 2014.

The Final Proposal has been filed with the Legislative Budget Assistant. The rule will be filed next week with the Office of Legislative Services once the amended fiscal impact statement is received from LBA. This rule will be an agenda item at the November 20 JLCAR meeting.
He-C 402 Therapeutic Cannabis Program - Alternative Treatment CentersFinal Proposal (annotated text)Final Proposal (fixed text)
JLCAR Date: Thursday, November 20, 2014
Contact: Michael Holt, (603) 271-9234, michael.holt@dhhs.state.nh.us

September 25, 2014

He-C 402 has officially entered the regular rulemaking process, and the public comment period has begun. (Note: The Initial Proposal is the same as the annotated version below, and has all tracked changes accepted.)

Based on public comment received, the Department has made numerous changes to the 8/12/14 draft of He-C 402 Alternative Treatment Centers. An annotated copy of the rules shows all changes made to the rule based on comment received.

The Department is soliciting advance public comment on He-C 402 Therapeutic Cannabis Program - Alternative Treatment Centers, prior to proposing rules through the formal rulemaking process. There is no public hearing scheduled for this advance comment period, but the Department is accepting written comments until Thursday, August 28, 2014. An additional public comment period, including a public hearing, will be scheduled when the Department enters the formal rulemaking process. He-C 402 Therapeutic Cannabis Program - Alternative Treatment Centers
Comment Period Ends: Thursday, August 28, 2014
Contact: Michael Holt, (603) 271-9234, michael.holt@dhhs.state.nh.us

July 23, 2014

He-C 401, Therapeutic Cannabis Program - Registry Rules, was adopted by the Commissioner today in compliance with RSA 126-X:6, I. It was adopted with an effective date of August 1, 2015. This effective date is subject to change, based upon the operation of the Alternative Treatment Centers. The Department is not accepting applications for registry identification cards or petitions for adding additional qualifying conditions at this time.

He-C 401, Therapeutic Cannabis Program - Registry Rules, was conditionally approved by the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (JLCAR) at their meeting on June 20. The rule has not yet been adopted and made effective. The Department is not accepting applications for registry identification cards or petitions for adding additional qualifying conditions at this time.

Based on public comment received, the Department has made numerous changes to He-C 401, Therapeutic Cannabis Program Registry Rules. An annotated copy of the rules shows all changes made to the rule based on comment received. A clean copy of this rule will be submitted into formal rulemaking within the next two weeks, and the official public comment period will begin later this month.

The Department is soliciting advance public comment on He-C 401 Therapeutic Use of Cannabis Registry Rules prior to proposing rules through the formal rulemaking process. There is no public hearing scheduled for this advance comment period, but the Department is accepting written comments until Friday, March 14, 2014. An additional public comment period, including a public hearing, will be scheduled when the Department enters the formal rulemaking process.

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